“It began with the tenor of Joel Prieto as Belmonte who, having won Domingo’s Operalia competition in 2008, was making his LA Opera debut. Handsomely tricked out as a traveling dandy of the era with ukulele and tennis racket, Mr. Prieto was a paragon of Mozartian vocal virtues with a smooth line, excellent passagework, and endless, endless, breath. During one particularly impressive moment of super-respiratory exhibitionism he actually glanced at his watch to the hilarity of the audience. His is a voice of real quality and although he made a bit of heavy weather in his last act aria the rest of his performance was literal perfection. He’s also dashingly handsome and made an appealing and sympathetic character of the Spanish nobleman rather than falling into standard “handsome hero” mode”.

“Pitted against the larger than life Linklater, Joel Prieto’s endearingly clueless, exceptionally sweet-voiced Belmonte, dressed the same as his rival but with the additional kit of tennis racquet, balls and ukulele, seemed almost an afterthought at times”.

“… this was the same cast of unilaterally exceptional singers that made the rounds in Aix and Edinburgh. From Joel Prieto‘s easily-produced, powerful voice that still maintained beauty of tone (his “Aura Amorosa” was a masterclass in legato) as Ferrando …”

“Joel Prieto sang his large tenor role wonderfully, without such a great opera tenor in this connection it would not have been such a great musically success, as with a less brilliant singer in that role, it could easily have been “not good enough”, but he made it, and was in addition good to look at, as he could move as if he has been Cuban.”